With the rising COVID-19 numbers and the emergence of the highly infectious delta variant, many companies are being forced to reconsider their positions on enforcing vaccination among their staff. CNN is taking a particularly strong stance, firing three employees who came back to the office unvaccinated. Not only that, but the media company will be pushing back the dates for their full return to the office.
Jeff Zucker, chairman of WarnerMedia’s news and sports operations, said in a memo to staff obtained by Variety that September 7 was no longer a feasible return date and that mid-October is more likely. “The bottom line is that, based on the information that is available today, and what experts expect to evolve with the virus in the weeks ahead, September 7 no longer feels appropriate,” Zucker explained in the memo. “We always said that we would be flexible with our decisions on all of this. As new information is made available, we are constantly evaluating our decisions.”
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Other companies, including ViacomCBS, Google, Facebook and Amazon, have postponed the dates for currently remote employees to return to office settings. As the coronavirus continues to mutate, so do corporations’ plans to keep working amid unprecedented times. Zucker also made it clear in the memo that vaccination was essential for continued employment. “In the past week, we have been made aware of three employees who were coming into the office unvaccinated. All three have been terminated,” Zucker said. “Let me be clear — we have a zero-tolerance policy on this. You need to be vaccinated to come to the office. And you need to be vaccinated to work in the field, with other employees, regardless of whether you enter an office or not. Period.”
“I think it is fair to say that we are all feeling a mix of anticipation, anxiety, frustration, confusion, and exasperation. All of that is to be expected,” Zucker continued. “We all have decisions to make that impact so many aspects of our lives. I get it. If nothing else, the resilience and perseverance you all have shown for 18 months now needs to continue a little bit longer. But we will get there. Continue to take care of yourselves and each other. And I will share more updates just as soon as we have them.”
